Hearing put off on New Hampshire man's competency

Wednesday

May 7, 2014 at 1:45 PM

Judge puts off hearing on competence of man who shot himself in the head in hate crimes case

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A judge is postponing the competency hearing for a New Hampshire man who shot himself in the head just weeks after police charged him in connection with racist graffiti written on the homes of four refugee families in Concord.

The judge put off the hearing — set for Wednesday — at least 45 days after lawyers for Raymond Stevens said they are still gathering medical records.

Stevens was arrested Oct. 15 and charged with writing hateful messages in black permanent marker on the homes in the same Concord neighborhood in 2011 and 2012.

He shot himself in the head Nov. 7 — on his 43rd birthday — but survived.

Stevens faces up to 30 years in prison because police say the crime was motivated by racial and ethnic hostility.